Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Koltin's Perspective

Coming to you live from Las Vegas. I am here attending the AICPA Practitioners Symposium. I will present "10 Marketing Tips for Small Firms on a Budget" tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. More on that tomorrow.During his session, "Succeeding in the Changing Financial Environment," Allan Koltin, CPA, President and CEO, PDI Global, shared his perspective on many issues:

It is time to upgrade talent. Rate your talent on a scale of 1-10, 10 = super star and 1 = why are they here? Eliminate those rated 1-4.

One Big 4 firm has cut their rates by 30% in selected markets. This will increase competition with local firms in those markets.

More firms are willing to run their firms like a business.

More partners are involved in goal setting, incorporating accountability and coaching.

CEOs and Audit Committees are looking for firms to deliver 80% of current value for lesser fees.

There will be more mergers in the next five years than the last 10 years combined.

There has been more activity regarding lateral and merged-in partners in the past five years than there has been in the last 20 years.

Koltin is not seeing a lot of 30-somethings starting their own firms. Perhaps this is because there are better firms today and they don't want to leave.

The average growth rate for 2009 is predicted to be 3%.

Now, I'll try my luck at the slot machines. That's about as daring as I get with gambling!

1 comment:

The comment about one Big 4 firm cutting their rates is absolutely correct. This is becoming an issue for many mid market CPA firms who are finding it increasingly difficult to challenge the name recongition and depth of resources that the Big 4 offer.

About Me

My name is Jean Caragher. I am president of Capstone Marketing, Celebrating 13 Years. I am an award-winning, recognized industry expert with over 25 years accounting marketing experience. Over the years I’ve been called a lot of things - tenacious, knowledgeable, experienced, focused – all qualities that will benefit your CPA firm’s marketing program.
Capstone Marketing’s services include Brand Surgery, Marketing Plan Development & Implementation, Retreat Facilitation, Training, and Marketing Director Recruiting.
You can contact me at jcaragher@capstonemarketing.com or 757.673.6826.